BACKGROUND Red-skin root disease has seriously decreased the quality and production of Panax ginseng (ginseng). METHODS To explore the disease's origin, comparative analysis was performed in different parts of the plant, particularly the epidermis, cortex, and/or fibrous roots of 5-yr-old healthy and diseased red-skin ginseng. The inorganic element composition, phenolic compound concentration...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the oxidative parameters of erythrocytes and genotoxicity in leukocytes of patients with breast cancer. Oxidative parameters were detected by spectrophotometry and genotoxic damage by single cell gel electrophoresis. Twenty-eight women with breast cancer were monitored before chemotherapy and after the second and fourth cycles of therapy with cyclophosphami...

Polyphenols have been previously shown to sensitize leukemia cell lines to topoisomerase inhibitors. Here, we assess the effects of five polyphenols when used alone and in combination with antimetabolites: methotrexate, 6-mercaptopurine and 5-fluorouracil; in lymphoid and myeloid leukemia cells lines, and non-tumor control cells. The effects of combined treatments were investigated on ATP and g...

The present study investigates ameliorative effects of nitric oxide (NO) against zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) phytotoxicity in wheat seedlings. ZnONPs exposure hampered growth of wheat seedlings, which coincided with reduced photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm and qP), due to increased accumulation of zinc (Zn) in xylem and phloem saps. However, SNP supplementation partially mitigated the ZnO...

SUMMARY Oxidative stress has been increasingly implicated in the pathogenesis of lung diseases. Antioxidant mechanisms and their regulation are poorly characterized in the human lung, but they may be important in the development and progression of pulmonary diseases. The present study was designed to investigate the regulation of the most important antioxidant enzymes (AOEs), superoxide dismuta...

Cells have developed a variety of mechanisms to respond to heavy metal exposure. Here, we show that the yeast ubiquitin ligase SCF(Met30) plays a central role in the response to two of the most toxic environmental heavy metal contaminants, namely, cadmium and arsenic. SCF(Met30) inactivates the transcription factor Met4 by proteolysis-independent polyubiquitination. Exposure of yeast cells to h...

Alternative oxidase (AOX) has been documented to mitigate the oxidative stress caused by abiotic stresses. However, it remains unknown how AOX regulates antioxidant system and photosynthesis under waterlogging. To address this issue, we used two watermelon (Citrullus lanatus L.) cultivars (waterlogging tolerant cultivar ‘YL’ sensitive ‘Zaojia8424’) as materials inhibitor salicylhydroxamic acid ...

INTRODUCTION A major activity at glutamatergic synapses in the brain is the production of potentially toxic oxygen radicals, in particular superoxide, by postsynaptic enzymes such as PGH synthase and by mitochondria. These need antioxidant mechanisms, such as the local production of antioxidant molecules (such as glutathione and ascorbate) and antioxidant enzymes, for protection of the neuron a...

one of the major classes of ionotropic glutamate receptors is the class of n-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (nmdars). receptor activation recruits, via calcium signal transduction mechanisms which play important roles in oxidative metabolism, mitochondrial free radical production and occurrence of other mitochondrial factors which potentially contribute to excitotoxicity and neuronal death. in...